Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Low IQ students learn to read at 1st-grade level after persistent, intensive instruction

Study offers hope for all struggling readers after large
sample of special education students and students with low IQ significantly
improved their reading ability over several academic years

The findings of a pioneering four-year educational study
offer hope for thousands of children identified with intellectual disability or
low IQ who have very little, if any, reading ability.

The study by researchers at Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, is the first large-scale longitudinal study of its kind to demonstrate
the reading potential of students with intellectual disability or low IQ, said
lead author Jill H. Allor, principal investigator of the study, which was
funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The researchers found that students with intellectual
disability who participated in four years of persistent, specialized
instruction successfully learned to read at a first-grade level or higher.

“This study proves that we should never give up on anyone.
It raises expectations for all children,” Allor said. “Traditionally the focus
of instruction for students with intellectual disability has been functional
skills, such as how to manage their personal hygiene, do basic chores around
the house or simple work skills. This study raises academic expectations as
well.”

The study demonstrates there’s hope for every struggling
reader, said Allor, a reading researcher whose expertise is reading
acquisition. The study’s implications can be life-changing for non-readers and
struggling readers.

“If these children, and any other struggling readers, can
learn to read, that means they can go grocery shopping with a shopping list,
read the labels on boxes and cans, and read basic instructions,” Allor said.
“Even minimal reading skills can lead to a more independent life and improved
job opportunities.”

The findings indicate a critical need for more research to
determine ways to streamline and intensify instruction for these students, said
Allor, whose research focuses on preventing reading failure among struggling
readers.

“This study demonstrates the potential of students with
intellectual disability or low IQ to achieve meaningful literacy goals,” said
Allor. “And it also clearly demonstrates the persistence and intensity needed
to help children with low IQs learn to read.”

Students identified with intellectual disability account for
nearly one in every 100 public school students, according to the study, which
cites the U.S. Department of Education. Of those identified with intellectual
disability who do graduate, most don’t receive a diploma, only a certificate of
completion, said the study’s authors, all from SMU’s Annette Caldwell Simmons
School of Education and Human Development.

“This article is a call for boldness and the redoubling of
our efforts to truly teach all children to read,” said the authors.

The researchers report the findings, “Is scientifically
based reading instruction effective for students with below-average IQs?” in
the journal Exceptional Children, published by the Council for Exceptional
Children.

The study was funded with a $3 million grant from the U.S.
Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. Allor, professor in
the department of teaching and learning in the SMU Simmons School, was
principal investigator.

For the study, a group of 141 children was divided into two
groups. One group of 76 children received the reading intervention. A group of
65 children was taught in a business-as-usual instructional environment, which
included various amounts of reading instruction and methods.

The children in the intervention group were taught reading
40 to 50 minutes a day in intensive small group settings of one to four
students per teacher. Teachers used “Early Interventions in Reading,” a proven
curriculum designed by SMU reading specialist and study co-author Patricia G.
Mathes and Allor.

Most of the students entered the study around the age of 7
and variously were identified with disabilities including Down syndrome, autism
spectrum disorder, Williams syndrome or a physical disability. All of the
students had the ability to speak.

IQs of the students in the study ranged from 40 to 80. IQ
scores in the range of 85 to 115 are considered to be average.

Instruction was provided by six teachers certified in
special education and four part-time teachers certified in general education.
Teaching experience ranged from five years to 35 years.

After four years of the specialized teaching the researchers
found that students with mild or moderate intellectual disability could independently
read at the first-grade level, and some even higher.

Students receiving the specialized instruction significantly
outperformed the comparison group on a variety of key reading tests.

Scientifically based reading program put to the test

The current study also demonstrates the effectiveness of a
teaching method that’s scientifically based for use with children identified
with intellectual disability or low IQ, said Allor.

Mathes and Allor, former special education teachers,
developed the study’s reading program after research into how children with
dyslexia and other learning problems learn to read.

Teachers providing the intervention received extensive
support and training, the authors said. That included multi-day professional
development training on curriculum implementation, monthly meetings with the
research team to address instructional and behavioral issues, and instructional
support from reading coaches who previously taught the intervention.

The program, previously validated with struggling readers
without intellectual disability or low IQ, included a series of brief
activities that increased in difficulty that were geared toward phonological
awareness, letter knowledge and sounds, sounding out and sight words.

Fluency was developed from repeated reading in unison to
paired reading and independent timed reading, the authors said. Comprehension
activities included strategies for both listening and reading comprehension.

Students used provided materials that included word cards,
small readers and activity pages to play reading games or to read aloud with
someone else.

IQ is generally considered a predictor of learning ability,
but in this study with students who are intellectually disabled or low IQ, the
results showed that IQ didn’t always predict academic achievement. Although
generally students with higher IQs improved more quickly, there were many
individual cases where a student with a lower IQ outperformed a student with a
higher IQ, Allor said.

The research will continue under a new $1.5 million U.S.
Department of Education grant, led by Allor, principal investigator on the
grant. Al Otaiba and Paul Yovanoff, both professors in SMU’s new special
education program, are co-investigators on the new grant.